FAQs
Various and Sundry Tidbits of Knowledge and General Esoterica about Edsel Promos
FAQs
Various and Sundry Tidbits of Knowledge and General Esoterica about Edsel Promos |
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What companies made Edsel promos?
Which Edsel models are represented as promos?
OK, is there anything that differentiates a true Edsel dealer promo from a car sold in toy stores?
How many different color combinations are seen on Edsel promos?
What other variant elements are seen in Edsel promos?
How can I tell if any of the parts on my Edsel promo are modern replacements?
. . . and Answers!
All Edsel promos from all three years are 1/25 scale.
What companies made Edsel promos?
All Edsel promos from all three years were made by Aluminum Model Toys, Inc. (AMT) of Birmingham, Michigan.
Which Edsel models are represented as promos in which years?
Here's the deal:
» All 1958 Edsel promos, both hardtops and convertibles, are Pacers.
» All 1959 Edsel promos, both hardtops and convertibles, are Corsairs.
» All 1960 Edsel promos, both hardtops and convertibles, are Rangers.
Note that all Edsel promos are two-door cars.
Alas, no Citations, and no Bermuda, Roundup or Villager station wagons were made. Oh, well, ya can't have everything . . .
Kind of. AMT's Edsels were made using the same parts, but some were designated for dealers, others for toy stores.
OK, is there anything that differentiates a true Edsel dealer promo from a car sold in toy stores?
There are some "rule of thumb" measures, which are as follows:
» 1958 Edsels
As a rule, 1958 Edsel promos meant for sale in stores have gold scallops and rear trim. True dealer promos have scallops and trim in any color except gold. However, there are known instances of gold-trim cars having been given away at dealerships, and, even more interesting, cars with very unusual, non-gold, promo-all-the-way color combinations being sold in stores.
One (unproven) exception involves convertibles. This folklore holds that a 1958 Edsel convertible with a WHITE boot is in fact a dealer car, regardless of scallop color. This really cannot be proven one way or another, as AMT is known to have used whatever parts were on hand for any given production run. One example: while most Edsel promos have Edsel hubcaps, some Edsels have Ford hubcaps. This was true particularly toward the end of a run - let's use those parts UP!
» 1959 Edsels
Seems that in 1959, real, live Edsel promos were done in real, live Edsel colors - President Red, Jet Black, Light Aqua, Velvet Maroon, etc. By contrast, hobby store varieties came in four metallic colors - rose, blue, brown, and green. These metallic colors were standard across all 1959 FoMoCo flywheel models (Edsel, Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln).
Also, true 1959 Edsel promos have white paint on the dash (with the exception of the Velvet Maroon cars, which have Talisman Red (i.e., pink).
Lastly, our Edsel had lost its scallops for 1959. Instead, it had - what? Inserts? We'll call them inserts. For 1959 promos, cars meant for sale in stores have gold inserts, while dealer cars have inserts in any color (usually white) EXCEPT gold. As before, this is a rule of thumb, since some white-insert Edsels (in the metallic colors mentioned above) are known to have been shipped to toy stores.
Thanks to Phil Skinner for the skinny on this!
» 1960 Edsels
1960 Edsels are much easier to tell apart. This time, look at the chassis. 1960 cars sold in stores have a metal flywheel chassis, just like all 58s and 59s. Dealer cars, however, have a plastic non-flywheel chassis.
True 1960 dealer promos are very scarce; unfortunately, they are often warped every which way. The plastic chassis tended to bow downward over time; the sides, lacking the internal support that the chassis provided, then followed suit and often bulged outward.
How many different color combinations are seen on Edsel promos?
A lot. Seemingly gazillions, in fact, for the 1958 models, including many that never appeared on a real Edsel. This was probably due to some combination of AMT saying "Hey, THESE colors might look good together!" and "OK, the boss sez that we're supposed to use up the rest of the Royal Blue by the end of the week." Some color combinations must have been contractually specified by Ford's Edsel division, but AMT apparently had artistic license to do as they wished for everything else.
What other variant elements are seen in Edsel promos?
We mentioned above that some Edsel promos are seen with Ford hubcaps. There can apparently be variations in the style of headlights, although I have not seen this.
Part way through the 1958 Edsel promo production, AMT went back into the tooling and upgraded the cars to make them more representative of the real car. They added simulated heater fresh air intake slots between the back of the hood and the bottom of the windshield (they look like little squares rather than slots). They also went into the interior tooling and upgraded the interior door trim panels. They added window crank handles and door opening handles, and added crosshatching to the interior door panels to simulate the real Pacer interior sew style. The original door trim panels were plain with just an armrest.
I once heard of an Edsel promo made for the Australian market that had the steering wheel on the right side of the interior. Anyone ever seen that one?
In the color department, promo interiors usually have gold seat inserts, but occasionally something else was used if the scallop/insert was not gold. And a tiny handful of promos have a painted dashboard.
Contact Norm Nolder, a prodigious contributor to Edsel Promo Time. Norm has had a manufacturer produce several promo parts using 3D printing technology, and offers them at a very reasonable cost. If you previously obtained parts from the now-defunct Modelhaus, you will be amazed at the quality of these 3D-printed items!
How can I tell if any of the parts on my Edsel promo are modern replacements?
As you might expect, newer "chrome" parts (bumpers and grilles, for example) are usually much shinier than the originals. Original 1958 rear bumpers have a bit more detail than their modern-day replacements; see pic below.
Ronald van der Velden offers the procedure
below. (No guarantees, kids, as the staff here at Edsel Promo Time are too lazy
and faint of heart to try this themselves.)
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